Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 89.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 789 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $818.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $6.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $914.70. 489,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,130,106. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $927.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $794.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $729.41.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.